Baby and Johnny, sittin’ in a tree …
Nobody gets painted into any corners, you can be sure, when Dirty Dancing in Concert comes to town. Saturday’s event, at Ruth Eckerd Hall, consists of a high-definition screening of the 1987 Catskills romance, with a live band performing all the hits (“Stay,” “In the Still of the Night,” “The Time of My Life”) during the appropriate scenes.
It’s a national tour, it’s been around for years, and here’s how it works: The band (and singers) sweat to the oldies in perfect synch with Dirty Dancing on screen. After an hour, the movie and band stop for a 15-minute intermission. Then everyone and everything comes back until the story’s thrilling (and very musical) conclusion. The band then plays another 30 minutes of ‘50s and early ‘60s hits.
Showtime is 8 p.m.; tickets are at this link.
There’s dance, but not the “dirty” kind, Saturday and Sunday at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. New York’s Jon Lehrer Dance Company, which has been in residence there since Monday, performs both days (8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday). Lehrer’s background is in both the modern and jazz dance idioms; the company’s website boasts that it delivers a “dynamic, fun, and distinctive style which fuses jazz and modern dance.” Find out more at this link.
Tickets for the New Tampa performances (as well as a Saturday Master Class) are at this link.
Concert calendar
Fantasia sings Saturday at Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena. Publicity photo.
Tonight at the Palladium Theater Side Door Cabaret: Singer/guitarist Willy Porter. Tickets.
Tonight at Jannus Live: Country music’s Maddie & Tae. Tickets.
Tonight and Friday at the Capitol Theare: The Outlaws, Tampa Bay’s contribution to the great 1970s Southern Rock explosion, featuring original member Henry Paul on lead vocals and guitar. Wet Willie’s Jimmy Hall opens. Tickets.
Stride piano great Judy Carmichael (with guitarist Nate Najar) shares the Saturday night bill with jazz vocalist Allyson Briggs (and her band), at the Palladium Theater. Both artists have played to sold-out houses in the Palladium’s Side Door Cabaret. Also happening: Steve Splane and Joan Dragon will be honored with Palladium Jazz Awards. Tickets for the 8 p.m. event are here.
Saturday at Benchmark International Arena: R&YB vocalist Fantasia, who rose to fame as a contestant (and winner) on American Idol, and Anthony Hamilton. Find tickets at this link.
Singer and songwriter Amy Grant and her band will play the Capitol Theatre Sunday. Tickets are here. Watch this space Saturday for a Catalyst interview with Ms. Grant.
The British vocal quartet Il Divo is back again, for a By Candlelight performance at the Mahaffey Theater Saturday. The group will be accompanied by the string trio Simply Three. Tickets.
Choral music
Friday’s concert by the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay missed Valentine’s Day by less than a week; nevertheless, it’s titled My Love is Mine and features, as its headline piece, Johannes Brahms‘ romantic “Liebeslieder Walzer.” The program also includes Michael R. Smith’s “Wind and a Bobwhite” (a world premiere commission), Jonathan Dove’s “The Passing of the Year,” Leonard Bernstein’s “ Make Our Garden Grow” and more. The performance is at 8 p.m. at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa. Find the full program, and tickets, here.
St. Petersburg’s One City Chorus’ annual concert (Metamorphosis) takes place Sunday (4 p.m.) at the Palladium Theater. The community harmony group’s program includes songs of peace, unity and diversity. Here’s a Catalyst story from earlier this week, with additional details (and a ticket link).
Seafood and music
Manatee County-based Paragon Festivals is in town again this weekend, with the St. Petersburg Seafood and Music Festival touching down at Albert Whitted Park. It’s a combination of food for sale from local vendors, and performances by local bands. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the event, which is co-sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg, is $10.
Ryan Joustra, left, and Marguerite Reed are in the cast of American Stage’s “Fairyland,” at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. Photo provided.
On theater stages
American Stage’s Tales By Twilight series of audience-moving, interactive outdoor performances continues with Fairyland: A Midwinter Night’s Dream, entering its second winding-through-the-woods weekend at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve (find showtimes and tickets here). The show’s Jonathan O’Brien guests on Friday’s edition of our Arts Alive! podcast.
At freeFall Theatre, the musical Himself and Nora continues through mid-March. It’s the story of controversial Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, and his complex relationship with wife Nora Barnacle – and with the publishing world. Find showtimes and tickets here.
And it’s the final weekend of performances for the LAB Theatre Project production of the wacky pioneer musical The Trail to Oregon! Info, showtimes, tickets, they’re all at this very link.
Where’s the orchestra?
Soloist Aubree Oliverson joins The Florida Orchestra for performances of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The program, conducted by Kensho Watanabe, also includes Prokofiev Symphony N. 5, and Brian Raphael Nabors’ “Pulse.” 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Ruth Eckerd Hall. All tickets are here.
Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section.
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